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The Power of the Rising Development Generation Africa
The Power of the Rising Development Generation Africa
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Land reforms vital in fight against poverty
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Experts from the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) have reiterated the fact that land policy and land reforms are fundamental in addressing issues of poverty, food security and general stability in the African region.

They were speaking at the opening session of a three-day regional consultative workshop on land policy in North Africa. Officials from the AUC, UNECA, and AfDB underscored the urgent need to build solid partnerships for land reforms in Africa.

Dr. Josue Dioné, Director of the Division of Food Security and Sustainable Development at the ECA, said that “many parts of the continent are riddled with conflicts related to failures in systems for land governance, control and use”.

Mr. Peter Mwanakatwe of the African Development Bank drew a link with the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, including the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment and explained that they are interwoven with land use.

Dr. Abebe H. Gebriel of AUC spoke on behalf of Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture. He pointed out that “in order to ensure that land policy and agrarian reforms address pertinent issues in Africa, we must recognize the need for a policy framework that addresses issues related to state sovereignty over land; the unequal distribution of land resources, the dualistic nature of property systems, land tenure… and land issues in the post-colonial reconstruction”.

The Addis Ababa workshop is the sixth in a series of regional stakeholder consultations aimed at coming out with a consensus document to be tabled at the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government during its July 2009 Summit.

There have been regional consultations for Southern Africa in Windhoek, Namibia (29-31 August 2007); Eastern Africa in Kigali, Rwanda (16-18 January 2008); West Africa in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (15-18 April 2008) and Central Africa in Yaounde, Cameroon (6-8 August 2008).

The current workshop hopes to reach consensus on the revisions to finalize the regional background document on land policy in North Africa.

It will also discuss specificities initiatives that should be included in the continental framework.

The key outcome of the regional consultation will be an enhanced regional background document whose elements will enrich the draft continental framework and guidelines, and inputs to the development of relevant benchmark indicators.

The initiative started with a Continental Consultative Workshop in 2006 that discussed major land policy issues and has gone through several phases of assessments and stakeholders consultations leading to the drafting of the “Framework and Guidelines”.

It is supported by the African Union Commission, the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank.

December 4, 2008 | 3:47 PM Comments  0 comments

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Development Generation Africa International observes World AIDS Day
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On December 1, Development Generation Africa International members joined the rest of the world in observing the World AIDS Day 2008.

At the occasion, the organization launched the Primary ABIA Project against HIV/AIDS to look into the plight of young people living with HIV/AIDS especially in the areas of nutrition and empowerment.

Director of Health-HIV/AIDS of the organization, Christopher Ezemobi who addressed participants stressed the need for the World AIDS Day event to lead, empower and deliver young people from the grip of AIDS in the 21st century and promised that the project will go a long way to present their plight to the people and involve them in solutions.

He said some of the problems being highlighted by young people living with HIV/AIDS is an indication that “We must continue to speak up openly about AIDS. No progress will be achieved by being timid, refusing to face unpleasant faces, or prejudging our fellow human beings. In the ruthless world of AIDS, there are no us and them…and in that world, silence is death.”

Children, young people and civil society groups attended the event as well as government officials.

December 2, 2008 | 3:37 PM Comments  0 comments

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Change came to America
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Change...
Change...
Change...
That is what happened
That was what Obama preached.
Peace...
Peace...
Peace...
Not heard
Change is coming..
It truly came
Change...
Change...
Obama changed.
That is a new concept in America
Change...
Let's laugh for change.
Change is possible.
Change...
We are all change.
New order in America
Change will change thinks
Change...
Fix America and renew hope
Change is permanent.
Change is Obama...
Celebrate Change first.
Then ask questions
Because Change is change.
Change...
Now that it is on ground.
Change will rebuild America
Change...
In my little opinion.
Change proved me wrong, and...
Change...
Only Change...the real change.
Change is definitely going to change things
Change is as of the beginning.
Change is Obama, the 'change-bearer'
The "Change-maker of America"
Change...
Truly came to America
Like never before...
Change! Change! Change!
That name is good---

November 7, 2008 | 2:28 PM Comments  0 comments

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Ethiopia launch commodity exchange for Afric development
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Ethiopia, a country of chronic food shortages and malnutrition, has launched an agriculture commodity exchange in a daring experiment to raise food production by creating a safe, transparent agriculture market.

The idea to create a commodity exchange was hatched by a former senior economist at the World Bank, Eleni Gabre-Madhin, who was born in Ethiopia and educated in the United States. Gabre-Madhin did her doctoral research on the role of markets in developing countries and refined her ideas while at the International Food Policy Research Institute. She now is the chief executive of the exchange.

Gabre-Madhin said the Ethiopian government began to consider a commodity exchange after the food crisis in 2002-2003; a bumper crop and price collapse in 2002 were followed by drought that threatened 14 million people with starvation the next year.

"In the bumper harvest, prices fell so low that farmers could not repay their loans, despite abundant production. The next year, not enough food was produced to feed the population. This led the government to think about the market: 'Why don't people store grain from year to year? Why can't the market deliver in bad times and save in good times?'" she said.

Although Ethiopia is the biggest grain producer in Africa, its traditional markets are small because of narrow networks of trust among buyers and sellers. "Most farmers trade within 12 kilometers of their farms and only with people they know," Gabre-Madhin said. She said more than two-thirds of farmers have faced contract defaults, and only 4 percent have received legal enforcement of contracts.

In the traditional trading system, grain changes hands four to five times between producer and consumer. With each change, the grain is put into new sacks. This system enables buyers to know what they are getting in terms of quality and quantity, as the contents are inspected and weighed, but it is vulnerable to price shocks.

The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange began operating in April, creating transparency and predictability in the national market and connecting Ethiopian commodities to international markets.

The U.S. Agency for International Development provided $1 million to launch the exchange.

The exchange provides warehousing, a reliable payment system, real-time market information, and quality control. Producers sell directly to the exchange, which assures payment within 24 hours.

"In the past, truck drivers took payment in envelopes filled with cash. It was never certain if or how much of the money would make it back into the hands of the seller," Gabre-Madhin said. Buyers in the traditional system do not know the quality of what they get unless they open up the sacks and inspect the contents. The exchange has assumed the grading task and guarantees the quality, so a distant buyer can be confident of what he is purchasing.

The Ethiopian exchange is linked to commodity markets around the world, making it possible for a trader in India, for instance, to buy futures of the prized Ethiopian lentils.

As for Ethiopia's major export, coffee, 461 coffee suppliers have obtained one-year memberships on the new commodity exchange.

"We're going to disseminate New York prices on our trading floor, and we'll feed our prices to the New York market. That means if you are looking at Ethiopian, Colombian or Rwandan coffee, you will have a basis for comparison," Gabre-Madhin said.

Agricultural traders have deluged the exchange with applications for membership, which, in Gabre-Madhin's view, is a sign that market confidence is building. "Worries about getting paid and getting the expected quality are being eliminated," she said.

Gabre-Madhin said she expects the exchange will create incentives for farmers to bring more of their produce to market. In the traditional trading system, about one-fourth of Ethiopia's grain is brought to market. She said the goal of the exchange is to handle 50 percent of Ethiopia's grain production in five years.

She said that nearly half of Ethiopia's rural households are net buyers of food. "Poor people buy food as well as sell food, which means that markets matter a lot, even at this low level of income," she said.

The exchange is not without its critics. Some say it will not work as a market institution because government officials occupy six of the 11 seats of the board. Gabre-Madhin believes that the government's involvement with the exchange will help it learn quickly how markets function.

Another concern has been that the exchange will further increase food prices, which have doubled in the past year. If Ethiopia's food-deficient neighbors can buy Ethiopia's commodities, then there will be less food for the country's already malnourished people, critics say.

Gabre-Madhin counters that the exchange is not the panacea for all of Ethiopia's food problems, but it is an important element for a functioning agriculture-based economy.